


THE LONGEST ROAD (is the one that leads to you)

by BlankIndexCards



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Force-Sensitive Hux, Kid Fic, M/M, Potential violence, Romance, Royalty AU, Strained Relationships, betrothal, kind of???, kylo amidala au, what says star wars better than strained relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-20
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-09-01 01:42:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8602261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlankIndexCards/pseuds/BlankIndexCards
Summary: At the age of twelve, Hux is betrothed to a boy he has never spoken to in order to smooth over intergalactic tensions that he has nothing to do with. Because of this, he has to spend his summers visiting Naboo, trying to make friends with a naive kid who has been given every opportunity in the world but doesn't know what to do with it. Between pleasing his father and chasing his own dreams, Hux must learn what it really means to face his feelings.





	1. The Road Ahead

Hux’s small fingers fumbled over the ornate buttons on his dress uniform, struggling to push them through the holes in the thick material. There wasn’t much time left before they were supposed to leave to meet the ambassadorial convoy. His shiny black boots rubbed his heels uncomfortably and the washed out grey pants he wore were awkwardly tight on his thighs. The padded shoulders of the overcoat made him feel shrunken, as though he was dressed in his father’s clothing instead of his own. He looked like a child, despite now being twelve and almost a teenager. A quick glance at the clock made his heart jump in his chest. Four minutes left. Hazel eyes darted around the mirror as he tried to feel his way through a nervous smile. It never looked entirely natural, the lack of crinkles around his eyes making it fall flat. He tried a flash of teeth and then instantly decided that they were best hidden behind his pale lips. They looked too predatory for his taste.

“Boy, it’s time to leave,” his father’s voice sounded just outside the bathroom, startling Hux slightly. He picked up his comb and ran it through his hair a few more times, just to make sure every strand was in place and slicked back. His heart leaped nervously again as he opened the bathroom door and did a sort of half trot down the long hall to catch up with the retreating figure of his father. His boots clacked on the floor as he struggled to keep up. They were headed towards the largest of the conference rooms on board the _Pursuer_ to meet a group of ambassadors from the New Republic. Never before had his father asked him to accompany him to meetings or anything really, so naturally, Hux had asked why he was being allowed to join him this once. He had been met with cold silence. Brendol Hux wasn't known for his openness, but he rarely ignored his son.

Nearly at a jog to keep up with his father’s quick strides, Hux watched Stormtroopers and other personnel march past them and tried to catch snippets the conversations they were having. They passed through doors and down long corridors, his eyes following the quiet and organized movements as he tried to follow his father through the ship. Much of the past year of his life had been spent traveling from planet to planet on the _Pursuer,_ a new type of Star Destroyer that was supposed to revolutionize travel and combat in the First Order. When his father had first mentioned that they would be living on a starship for some time, he had been excited. He was enamored with the stars and space flight, like most young boys his age. However, after months out in the black of space, Hux missed the feeling of wind, the smell of dirt, even the torrential rains of Arkanis.

His father abruptly stopped in front of him, causing Hux to stumble slightly as he tried not to barrel into him. They were now in a large, well lit room that he had never seen before. Banners displaying the First Order’s crest hung from high ceiling and made the room feel grand and somewhat out of place on a military ship.  A long black table made of marble with matching chairs ran down the center of the room. The First Order crest was perfectly carved into the middle of the table, each edge crisp and clean. Hux looked around his father to see why they had stopped. Standing in front of them with a face that radiated impassivity was a woman with dark hair twisted around her head in fancy braids and wrapped in a bone-white dress that echoed the styles Hux had seen in holos of the Old Republic. Hux recognized her immediately as General Organa, one of the greatest military leaders of the century and the last of the line of Alderaan. He briefly wondered where the rest of the convoy was and why she was meeting them alone.

“General,” the elder Hux said, dipping his head in acknowledgement as his face twisted into something rather uncomfortable. Hux supposed it was as close as his father came to smiling. He was suddenly incredibly aware of his own face, remembering how awful it looked when he smiled in the mirror.

General Organa replied, “Commandant,” remaining ever serene even in the face of the man’s strange expression. “I am pleased that you brought your son, young Armitage.”  The General glanced at him momentarily and Hux felt his heart leap, despite the fact that she had used his first name, of which he had never been fond. It felt detached from him, something only associated with his father’s expectations, and he had never really learned to respond to it properly.

Now that the pleasantries were out of the way, they began to discuss what his father called “matters of importance.” Hux tuned this out in favor of observing the General, as he had not met anyone from the New Republic before. There was a regality to her that Hux desired. Never before had he seen another human carry such an air of natural grace. Her power was hidden by congenial smiles and pleasant language. Silence followed her into rooms not out of fear but respect and Hux envied her for it. He knew that he looked and behaved too similarly to his father to ever achieve the ease of General Organa’s natural authority. People would never willingly follow him like they followed her. Hux  was young and to most it would seem silly to be concerned with gaining power at the age of twelve, but the path his life was supposed to take had always been very clear. He would grow into the mold that had been made for him.

As his gaze traveled farther up her face, the General suddenly locked eyes with him and he knew had been caught staring, though he didn't think it was really a crime. Fear and strange excitement filled Hux’s chest as she continued to look at him, unwavering and unchanging. He could hear his father speaking to General Organa, but it was distant and unimportant. His head felt odd and the sensation only grew the longer he held his stare. Her gaze burned, his skin tingling more fiercely the longer she stared at him. Hux managed to drop his gaze to the floor, unable to maintain eye contact, and his head cleared in an instant. However, he could still feel her eyes observing him, like he was some specimen that had piqued her interest and had been deemed worthy of her study. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, as if to flush the General’s penetrating gaze out of his mind.

A sudden movement by her leg drew his attention. A boy, younger than him and dressed in a tan tunic, peered at him from behind the imposing figure of General Organa. Rarely ever seeing other children, Hux was immediately intrigued. He was scrawny with wide facial features and black hair shorn closely to his scalp, which only accentuated his large ears. Hux wondered for a moment if he was hallucinating, since he hadn't seen the boy the entire time they had been standing there, but the General placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder, confirming two things for him. The first was that the other boy was real and the second was that this was likely her son.

In passing conversations that Hux wasn’t meant to hear, there had been talk of the General’s son, a Jedi padawan who was rarely seen in public yet was politically poised to take the throne of Naboo once he came of age. This small boy was not the image Hux usually pictured when he thought of a Jedi. The other boy cocked his head and his dark doe eyes looked over Hux appraisingly, taking in his full measure. His eyes searched him with an intense curiosity, bordering on hunger, but there was also a loneliness to them that felt out of place on his young face. Hux felt an uncomfortable swelling sensation in his chest that he had no name for. He wanted to call out to the boy or extend a hand to him in some sort of offering.  There was something in the way that the boy looked at him that drew Hux in, but he had no way to describe what it was.

“I do have one stipulation,” Organa said, “I want Armitage to spend a few summers with us on Naboo. I want the children to be at least acquainted before the fulfillment of the treaty.” Hux’s ears suddenly perked up at this. The General had just mentioned something about him staying on Naboo. That would mean a chance to leave the _Pursuer_ and to see some of the New Republic. The thought made his insides do somersaults.

That is… acceptable,” the Commandant twisted out, his words having to be shoved from his mouth rather than falling out easily. “I will have it added to the final draft.”

“Excellent. If this matter is finalized, I am going to join the rest of the convoy in Conference Room D,” General Organa said. Hearing no protest she continued, “Shall we see you for dinner this evening?

“Unfortunately, no. I have matters to discuss with my son and I must submit your... stipulation to the council so that it may be added to the treaty,” the elder Hux said, voice losing all of its previous airs of pleasantry. “It has been a pleasure, General.”

  
“Likewise, Commandant,” she smiled and turned to leave, leading her son behind her. He glanced back, deep eyes holding Hux’s gaze until he was forced to follow his father back down the hallway. The boy’s eyes were nothing like his mother’s, Hux thought. They were just like his own.

* * *

 

Dinner for the Huxes was a quiet event held in their quarters that usually resembled a debriefing more than it did a family meal. Unless they had company, it had always been the two of them, Hux and his father. His mother had died minutes after he was born. Hux knew very little about her other than she had been a mistress of his father and that Brendol's now ex-wife had been extremely jealous of her because she had given Hux Sr. something she could never could. A child. It apparently had torn their marriage apart and caused a great deal of scandal on Arkanis, driving his father to seek employment positions off-planet.

While it rarely came up anymore, the stigma surrounding his birth still dogged Hux in both his public and private life, despite his inability to change the circumstances of his own creation. If it wasn't the loud whispers of his classmates in school on Arkanis or the way his teachers' eyes had narrowed and chins had tilted when he entered a classroom, then it was his father's quiet resentment. Sometimes, late at night when he couldn't sleep, Hux would question whether his father resented the fact that he was born out of wedlock, that he had killed his mother, or that he was born at all.

Hux pushed these thoughts away, not finding them to be productive in any way, turning instead to a question that was at the forefront of his’s mind, one that had been plaguing him all day. He glanced up at his father, who seemed to be eating his dinner as mechanically as possible, and decided that now would be the time to broach the subject.

“Why did you talk about me with General Organa today?” Hux asked quietly, moving the supplement paste around with his fork. On Arkanis, they had a droid that did housework and cooked their meals. Unfortunately, there was no need for it on the _Pursuer_ and it had been left planetside. Hux dearly missed it as he had spent the last few months eating rationed food, which was normally grey nutrition paste. Though it contained all the supplements the human body could ever need, it lacked greatly in taste and consistency.

“Because you will be marrying her son,” Hux nearly dropped his fork. The cool tone with which his father spoke seemed to be at odds with what he had just said.

“Why?” It was all the response that Hux could manage. His father looked up from his meal as though his son had just asked an incredibly stupid question.

“It will be a symbolic marriage meant to show the solidification of peace between the First Order and the New Republic.  It will be several years before the actual ceremony,” he said, a long suffering tone coating his words.

“How many is several?” Hux asked with rising suspicion. Perhaps he had time to change his father’s mind, but if it was part of the treaty, it was unlikely his father would be willing to listen to him.

“Twelve years.” Hux choked a little at this. He would be - he took a moment to count on his fingers- twenty four! It seemed like such a long time away, right at the beginning of his adult life and likely his military career.

“Though it may seem premature to plan a wedding that far in advance, due to the current volatile nature of our agreement, both sides felt it was best to wait until the immediate conflict had settled,” his father continued, seeming to sense his son's confusion. "If you had payed any attention to the conversation I had with the General today, you would already be aware of this."

“And I have no choice in the matter?” Hux asked, heart sinking into his stomach. He had always known that he had a set path for his life with few options, but his future spouse had been one of those choices. It wasn't as though he spent an extended amount of time thinking about who he would eventually marry, but he had prized it as a decision that would be his and his alone. The sound of his father's water glass slamming against the table startled him and he looked up from his dinner.

“Supreme Leader Snoke surveyed all of the available candidates and chose you to represent the First Order. It is your duty to the First Order and the Hux family name to ensure public support of the peace agreement,” Hux Sr. snapped, “You should be honored that you were even considered for something as important as this.”

“I am honored, Father. I will uphold the family name with dignity,” Hux replied softly, trying his hardest to believe that even though he felt more sick than honored. It was just another mold to grow into and if he told himself that long enough, he might forget how much he hated everything about this. He spent the rest of the evening trying to numb his mind with his studies, pouring himself into his daily lessons with more focus than was strictly warranted.It wouldn't be until late that night, when he was tucked into bed, watching stars fly by out of his small view port, that his mind turned to think of the small boy that had clutched at the General's leg.

That child would grow to be his future husband.

Hux tried to picture what it would be like to stand at an altar with him, reciting vows in front of a crowd, but the image refused to take shape. He curled in on himself, the blankets rustling as the grayness of the ship seemed to close in around him. It was cold on the  _Pursuer_ in a way that dug into Hux's bones, making him feel isolated from the thousands of other people on the ship. So small and lonely he seemed, but then a thought dawned on him. He wasn't alone. There was another boy out there, facing the same situation he was, staring down the barrel of a predetermined life. A little bit of warmth spread through his chest and as the stars streaked past outside, a small, traitorous part of him was almost happy.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! A big thanks for reading and I'd love to hear your feedback on the story. Its my first time writing for this fandom. I am currently looking for a beta, so if anyone has any good recommendations, please tell me in the comments. Hope to have the next chapter out soon!


	2. The First Steps: Coming Planetside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been four long years since Hux's hand in marriage became part of an intergalactic treaty. Now, at age sixteen, he must go and meet his betrothed. Alone and on a strange planet, he struggles to overcome his anxiety about the future. These are his first steps towards what he hopes will one day be a happy life.

_The sun here is too bright._ This was the first thought Hux had as he stepped off the transport and onto the platform, luggage in hand, sunlight blasting through the large skylights in the roof. He didn't realize he had said it out loud until an older woman chuckled next to him and said, “You'll get used to it,” before disappearing into the swirling crowd in front of them.

The travelport was colorful, loud, and smelled very strange, a full assault on Hux’s senses that caused him to pause before jumping into the fray. There were so many species and the mix of languages was strange. Hux rarely heard anything except Standard and never had a chance to learn anything else. He felt very out of place in his drab, grey uniform and clutched his suitcase closely to his side.

At first, the crowd before Hux seemed to mill about and mix with no sense of structure or order, but the longer he stood and watched, the more he realized that there was a pattern in the chaos, a thread of organization that mirrored the way Stormtroopers marched around. He had no idea where he was supposed to go now. His father had told him that General Organa would send a representative to escort him to his new summer home, but he had no idea what this person looked like. The hand that was holding his luggage was becoming rather sweaty and he clutched the handle of the suitcase even tighter. Even his cramped room back on the _Pursuer_ was beginning to look appealing.

Out of the crowd, a scruffy looking man in a vest appeared, his legs taking long, confident strides. He was followed by a hulking mass of fur that stood a foot above everyone else milling around the port. His eyes were locked on Hux. _Is this my escort?_ Hux felt a little repulsed at the thought. The man came to a halt about a foot from Hux, hands coming up to rest on his hips. He looked like the classic description of a shady character in children's storybooks, what with his scuffed boots, devilish grin, and partially unbuttoned shirt. He could easily pass for a handsome rogue in one of the new holo movies, but the blaster strapped to his side pointed to something that was perhaps more sinister.

“You're Armitage Hux, right?” he asked, sticking out his hand. Hux took it reluctantly and he kept on speaking, “I'm Han Solo and this here is Chewbacca.” He gestured at the furry creature that Hux now recognized as a Wookie. Hux had heard of this man before from his classmates, a legend that helped bring down the Empire, but his patchy stubble and swagger seemed more suited to a ruffian that lounged about in bars on backwater planets.

“General Organa is my wife. She sent me to pick you up. I've got a transport waiting outside, so you can just follow me.” He abruptly turned tail, disappearing back into the crowd, leaving Hux to scramble after him. He had an irrational urge to grab the back of Han’s fraying shirt in order to slow him down. Why someone as great as General Organa would marry this man was beyond Hux. The Wookie walked behind him, something for which he was grateful. The people around them gave them a wide berth because of his size, which allowed Hux to drag his suitcase through the terminal with little difficulty. The walk was rather brief and they managed to make it out the front doors within ten minutes. Han’s supposed transport was a banged up old speeder that looked like it would barely fit half of Chewbacca, much less himself and Han as well. Orange paint was peeling off of its hull and it looked as though someone had taken a very sturdy stick to the front end several times. His luggage was loaded into the back and with a lot of shuffling, they all managed to cram into the speeder. Hux was jammed between Han and Chewbacca, having little room to move at all. He looked up at the blue Naboo sky, praying that he wasn’t allergic to Wookie fur.

“Hang on, kid,” Han said, starting up the speeder. It rattled wheezily, sputtering twice, before roaring to life. It rattled as it took off, shaking like it was going to fall apart under them, and Hux’s nails dug into his legs as he gripped them. They shot out into the streets like a rusty orange bullet. Buildings of all shapes and sizes rose up around them. The strange circles and spirals of the classic Naboo architecture were mesmerizing to Hux. Great green hills loomed in the distance with peaks that rose above the domed roofs of the city. It made something inside of Hux shiver and he could feel goosebumps rise up on his skin. There was a strange familiarity to the area, like he had seen it before even though he knew he never had.

It wasn’t long before they were out of the city and winding around country roads. They passed a few other speeders, but for the most part, there was little traffic. However, there was an abundance of summer heat. Hux felt uncomfortable in his heavy clothes, designed for the cold bleakness of space, and the Wookie fur that was constantly finding its way into his nose was only making the situation worse. Sweat beaded on his back underneath his uniform and rolled down his spine.

“You ever listen to any pre-Empire music, kid?” Han asked, glancing at Hux. He shook his head. His father had forbidden anything from before the Empire and even then, such things were hard to come by in the First Order. Han just grinned. “Then I’m glad to be the one to introduce it to you. Chewie, pass me the data disk catalogue, would ya?” The Wookie warbled something unintelligible back and then proceeded to rummage around in the glove box. He pulled out a folder of sorts and gave it to Han, giving Hux a mouthful of hairy elbow momentarily. Han jammed his hand into the folder and pulled out a silver disk. He slid it into a slot on the dashboard, punched a few buttons, and fiddled with a knob before the strains of stringed instruments began to come through the speakers of the speeder.

The song began softly, swelling from a pianissimo to a forte, and suddenly there was a striking blare from the brass. It soon became like a battle between the strings and the brass. Hux scanned the horizon and watched the lush greenery fly past, imagining X-Wings and Tie-Fighter performing the intricate dance of battle in time with the music. He couldn’t understand why his father would ever forbid something that sounded so good.

“This song is based on a fight between a Jedi and a Sith lord. I’ve never been big on all of that wizardry, but it reminds me of flying the Falcon,” Han said with an easy grin, “What’d you think?” The music swelled again, vibrating the whole speeder.

“I like it,” Hux said quietly, a smile forming on his face too. He was beginning to see what a great leader like Organa might find in someone like Han. The man had a certain charm to him. Hux turned his eyes back to the road, watching it wind out before them between the hills. He had never seen so many verdant plants in all of his life and it was a little overwhelming. They blurred into a flurry of soft colors, flitting faster than his eyes could follow.

Suddenly, the treeline parted and a great blue expanse came into view, striking against the previously green countryside. Hux immediately knew it to be the ocean, with the way it stretched on endlessly. He had heard of oceans before and seen pictures, but it was quite a different thing to see in person. Sand lined the shores like a blanket and Hux wanted to leap out of the speeder, if just to feel it for a moment. It looked like silk in comparison to the mushy ground of Arkanis or the prickly grass that grew along the edge of the Naboo roads.

A large house came into view along the winding edge of the coast. It popped up like a white patch against the startling blue of the ocean and was almost blinding in the noon sun. The shape of it was conventional and familiar, reminding Hux of his own home on Arkanis. However, it was much larger than any ordinary house, sprawling across the beach like it had grown there instead of being built. Hux felt the speeder suddenly slow down and Han veered off the road, down a paved path towards the white house.

“Here we are,” Han said, glancing at Hux, whose earlier nervousness was suddenly returning. They shuddered to a halt in front of the house and both Han and Chewbacca were quick to open their doors and squeeze out of the speeder. Han stretched and groaned, his back making a strange popping sound. Hux felt some sympathy for the man as he stepped out of the speeder, his own legs protesting at the sudden movement.

“I’m getting too old to be riding around in this hunk of junk,” Han complained, pulling Hux’s suitcase out of the trunk. Chewbacca replied with something that sounded like an agreement. The pair began to head in the direction of the door and Hux hurried to catch up. He met them just as Han opened the door and the older man ushered Hux into the foyer. The walls were a soft cream color and arched towards a high, curved ceiling. Some type of smooth, marbled stone covered the floor and it reflected the light that poured from the tall windows and skylights. Han dropped the suitcase in the foyer and waved his hand dismissively when Hux went to pick it up.

“We can take care of that later. Lunch’ll be ready in a little bit. Ben’s in the sitting room.” He pointed down a shadowy hallway to the glowing door way of a room and gave Hux a pat that was more of a shove in that direction. Hux stumbled slightly and then started down the hall, glancing back to see that Han and Chewbacca had already left. Hux paused a moment, his heart rate starting to speed up. He felt a crushing sense of reality that he was about to meet his future husband and it was incredibly important that he made a good impression. Taking a deep but shaky breath, he turned into the bright doorway of the living room.

A young boy was sitting on a couch reading. He was hunched over a datapad and a single braid, which had slipped over his large ears, was dangling by his face. The rest of his dark hair was kept short and looked fuzzy in the sunlight that flooded the room. While he was much taller than the last time Hux had saw him, he was still just as skinny. He looked up, his face catching the sun, and Hux felt a twinge in his chest as their eyes met. There was that same lonely gaze that he had thought about for four long years.

“Hi, I’m-” he paused, not confident even in his own name, “Hux.” He raised his hand cautiously in a rather pathetic wave. The boy smiled and shifted to face him, placing the datapad on the couch.

“It's nice to meet you, Hux,” he said, seeming not to notice the lack of a first name. His grin was lopsided and seemed to stretch his face to the point of splitting. There were none of the sharkish features Hux found on his own face, just an innocent eagerness.

“I’m Ben Solo, but my friends call me Kylo. It’s my Jedi name,” He seemed rather pleased with that fact. Kylo folded his legs under him on the sofa and gestured for Hux to sit opposite to him, which he did. The couch was pleasantly squashy, much more comfortable than anything he had sat on on the _Pursuer_.

“Do all Jedi choose new names?” Hux asked, trying to figure out where to look on Kylo’s face. He wasn’t ready to look directly into those deep eyes.

“No, most don’t. Only if the Force gives you one and there’s a lot more to it than that.” He glanced sheepishly at the floor and said in a much more subdued tone, “Actually, it’s only usually the Sith that change their names, but according to my Uncle Luke, some Jedi have been known to do it too.”

“Ah,” Hux said, not really understanding the significance of all this. He knew very little about Jedi and Sith lore as his father had forbidden him from studying it.

“I'm not officially a Jedi Knight yet, but I won't be living at the temple for awhile. Mom wants me to learn about politics and Uncle Luke said that my training can be completed when I'm a little older,” Kylo prattled on, unaware of how rapt an audience he had. Hux had never heard anyone speak so freely, without a tone that was concerned with efficiency. He didn’t know much about the Jedi or the Force, but he was quite content to sit back and learn.

“I mean, our summer house is nice, but I’m starting to miss the temple. It's so quiet there. It's really nice. You'll have to visit there sometime,” Kylo paused, expecting a response.

“I… suppose I could visit,” Hux said, unsure of the response that Kylo was wanting. He had no idea when he would be able to visit or if that was even allowed. This seemed to satisfy Kylo though as he continued on.

“Mom says we’re supposed to get married eventually.” His eyes dropped to the ground for a moment.  “Did you know that most Jedi don't have relationships because they want to be closer to the Force?”

“No, I didn't.” The words felt awkward coming out of his mouth. He had never much practice making small talk with anyone other than his father and Brendol Hux thought that pleasantries were ridiculous and a waste of air. “I guess that makes us a special case then.”

“Yeah, it does,” said Kylo, a grin splitting his face. He looked down at his hands, his smile softening a little.

“Boys, lunch is ready,” a warm voice called from the other side of the room. Hux turned to see General Organa leaning the doorway. His mouth went dry. Despite being in a casual setting, none of the commanding air that she had had four years earlier had left her. Kylo hopped up from the couch and Hux followed him cautiously, eyes never leaving Organa’s face. He felt a brush of that odd sensation from the last time he had seen her, but it quickly passed. Hux quickly flicked his gaze back to Kylo’s retreating back and felt his anxiety from earlier return. Everything he did today would set the tone for the rest of his life. He had to be perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a little while, but I'm glad to be back and posting again. Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'd love to hear what y'all think of the story so far.


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